It started with a simple conversation between twins. It became a war of pranks as Fred and George try to out do each other, locked in whimsical combat to win the heart of a certain Hermione Granger! But will she have any of it?

It took a good ten minutes for the twins to finally make their way down to the kitchens. After getting through the portrait, which had been a challenge in and of itself-

"I'll do it!"

"Oh no you don't, you'll scratch the apple! Then where will we be?"

"I won't scratch the apple, I know what that does. I don't have a death wish!"

"Just let me tickle the pear."

"Okay."

"Wait, what? Never mind, you tickle it then...

-they found their favorite spot, and spent about fifteen seconds waiting to be served. Another ten minutes found them digging in to their meals, not daring to take their eyes off the other. This made for very confused eating, as neither of them could see what they were putting in their mouths.

It would have been a very uneventful meal had George not accidentally looked away. The split second diversion – a house elf dropping a large pan -, was all Fred needed. In a flash he slid a small vial from his sleeve (which he kept there for just such opportunities) into his hand, and poured the contents all over one of the plates of food. When George looked back, he saw a very innocent Fred cutting a piece of meat.

George narrowed his eyes, reached over the small wooden table they were eating at, and switched their dishes. Fred paled slightly, and George grinned inwardly. That was all the proof he needed; Fred must have done something.

Smiling in satisfaction, George took a large bite of meat. It tasted a bit funny…Fred's expression changed suddenly, and with a devilish grin he started tucking with great gusto into George's food. It was George's turn to pale. Of course Fred had done something to his own food, knowing George would switch. The only question was…what did he do?

---

Lee strolled to Care of Magical Creatures, figuring the points in his head. George had scored a point when he got up early to set the trap; Fred got half a point for checking before moving. Fred then scored another two points for making George's bed shrink, which led to George loosing a point for looking so funny when he jumped off the bed. Fred then proceeded to roll off the bed and get glued to the floor, which lost him three points because he got caught. George lost five points for getting caught in his own trap. That left Fred at negative half a point and George at negative five.

After figuring this Lee went on to dole out extra points (if Dumbledore could do it, so could he). He gave Fred one and a half points for laughing at himself, and then six points to George because he had tried to flatter him. Thus, using this infallible system, they were tied.

---

Somehow both twins managed to make it to Care of Magical Creatures only twenty minutes late. This was really quite an accomplishment, as George was incredibly jumpy and Fred was incredibly suspicious. Really, it was surprising they had made it to class at all.

"All righ'!" Hagrid said as the twins entered the paddock. They hadn't really missed much, as the first fifteen minutes of class had been used to round up the third years' escaped poisonous puffskeins. In fact, the class had only just gotten around to starting.

"All righ'," Hagrid repeated, going over to the edge of the forest, "We're goin' to be seein' an interestin' beastie today." Aidan gulped, along with half the class. Fred smirked, and George looked at him shiftily. Hagrid got out his pink umbrella wand and waved it about, causing bright magenta sparks to shoot out of it into the Forest.

There was a mighty roar, and everyone in the class jumped. Something seemed to be getting closer. Bushes rustled, and a bird flew out of a tree. There was another roar, some galumphing paw stamps. Suddenly the high shrubbery at the base of the trees parted, and a hideous creature ambled out.

It was one and a half feet tall, standing on its four legs. It had brown, shaggy hair, and bright, wide pink eyes. The shape was something like a small dog, but it didn't seem remotely dog-like. It bared its greenish, mossy teeth.

"An' this," Hagrid began, beaming, "is a Pobjinger. Careful not to touch it, it's matin' season an' it migh' snap at yeh." No one thought that not touching it was going to be much of a problem. It would have been much more trouble, in fact, if Hagrid said that they were supposed to touch it.

Lee and George exchanged quick looks of amusulsion, a combination of amusement and revulsion, while Fred just grinned wickedly. George looked at him questioningly.

"Wha-" he began, but was cut off by the shrieks of his classmates. The Pobjinger had moved from the edge of the forest and was barreling toward the students, who quickly scattered. The other students didn't seem to phase the creature in the slightest, however; it was moving straight for George.

He turned to run, but the Pobjinger was faster. It caught up with him, and when George realised what its intentions were he groaned. Now he knew what was in the food.

Pobjinger pheromones.

A/N: Sorry this is taking so long, but it's finals week. Don't expect too much more from me for awhile...Unless you review a lot! XD

The author would like to thank you for your continued support. Your review has been posted.